I pulled up my therapy records on my phone.
“Three and a half years, Ethan. I’ve been
dreaming about Garrett for three and a half
<
years. He tortured me for that long! Luckily, I found you, his doppelganger.”
I met his gaze. “I used you to get over him.”
Ethan’s face flushed crimson.
454
“Don’t get mad,” I said calmly. “You didn’t exactly lose anything in this deal.” I reminded him of how he’d used me, how I’d footed the bill for everything, how I’d unwittingly helped him and Lindsey get together. We were even. He
had no reason to contact me again.
He stood there, speechless. As I walked away, I
heard him laugh, a soft chuckle that grew
louder, the same arrogant, pathetic laugh from
the phone call.
- 10.
The silence that followed wasn’t the suffocating
silence of before, but a peaceful emptiness.
<
Rehearsals started, and Julian, the method
actor, filled that emptiness with… something
else entirely.
He kept improvising, twisting the tragic love
story into a tale of unrequited love. He ignored
the scripted seduction, saying unexpected
moments create real sparks.
He was right. His improvised lines caught me
off guard, sending shivers down my spine. The
director said it looked like genuine connection.
I was finally feeling something for someone
other than Garrett. My blushing cheeks, the
racing of my heart, betrayed me. I felt like a
schoolgirl with a crush, completely at Julian’s
mercy.
At first, I passively accepted these feelings.
Then Julian started pushing for more. He
needed me to surprise him, to create that
electric push and pull.
<
I looked at him, confused. “Are you… are you flirting with me?”
464
He paused, then grinned. “You catch on quick.”
We laughed. The director, bewildered, hushed
- us. “Are you acting, or is this real?”
I wasn’t sure. But I noticed Julian’s ears were
red.
Something undeniable was growing between us,
a palpable energy that filled the theater. When
that energy spilled over into our off–stage
interactions, Ethan resurfaced.
- 11.
Ethan had been in a car accident. By the time I
heard, he was out of bandages, mostly minor
injuries, but there was some concern about
head trauma. He was apparently asking for me
constantly I carood to a phone call
<
constantly. I agreed to a phone call.
He was silent for a long moment. Then, his
voice hoarse with emotion, he said, “Long time
no see, Nancy. Are you forgetting me? If it makes you happy, it’s okay.”
The walls I’d built, the months of detox,
crumbled. I dropped my purse, ran out, my mind
screaming, Ethan is Garrett! Ethan is Garrett!
Julian grabbed my wrist. “We’re not done with
the scene! It’s your turn to break free from the
script!”
I hesitated, but I couldn’t think, couldn’t focus.
Julian couldn’t hold me back. I raced to the
hospital, to Ethan’s bedside. His bandaged wrist
had been unwrapped, revealing a deep scar,
identical to Garrett’s. I pulled open his shirt. A
small mole, just visible above his collarbone…
- )
464
<
I sank into a chair, meeting Ethan’s red–rimmed
eyes.
“Long time no see, Nancy,” he said.
That’s all it took. This was Garrett.
He stared at me, tears welling up. It was a reunion after a lifetime, a near–death
experience. Relief warred with regret in his
eyes.
